The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1887-07-02
ROAST PORK.

%
Chicago-The Visible supply of Hog Meat
Materially Lessened by the Turning OF
Phil Armour's Immense Packing Estab-
lishment.
CuIcAGo, June GA million and a
quarter dollars went up in smoke at the
Union Stock-yards yesterday Early in
the morning one of the employees Of the
Chicago Packing a. Provision Company
discovered fire in the taulS-room In
few minutes one of the tanks exploded,
scattering burning lard over the adjacent
buildings, and dozen separate fires were
soon rivaling each other in the destruc-
ton Of the immense establishment.
Though the fire was struck out in the
evening, fourteen and one-fou7 ; hours
after it started, the smoulderinef embers
continued TO laden the air with hse fumes
of roast pork, and five acre oven will re-
main on the premises red not for at least
a couple of days. The Chicago Packing
a. Provision Company's works occupy
about six acres of ground, but the fire
was kept within the district bounded by
Fortieth street, Center avenue, Forty
second street and the railroads tracks,
block west of Center avenue. This ter
ritory contained four large buildings.
The main building was 300x475 feet
In it a portion of the killing was done,
and the hanging cutting, packing,
curing and other work incidental to
slaughteriug establishment. Except the
curing-room, in which were l9,O61OO-
pounds of short ribs, the main building
and its contents are q total loss The
| curing-room, l0)xl 80 feet and four stories
high, lost its roof, but the stone Prevails
saved its contents, a portion Of them in q
roasted condition. On the east side OF the
main building was the warehouse,
| 12)x40o feet, with four stories and
basement The two upper floors
at the south end were used for kill
ing purposes. In the warehouse were
seventeen thousand barrels of mess pork
belonging to Armour q Co The building
| and much of the pork was wholly de-
stroyed. About three thousand live hogS-
were in the building when the fire star%-
! ed but the company's employees succeeded
| in getting them out. Between six hun
dred and seven hundre hogs were burned
| alive in the building. Back OF the main
building was the fertilizer factory, one
hundred feet square, ana the engine
house, 50x65 feet. Both structures were
burned completely.
The fact that no wind was blowing
when the fire started was probably the
only circumstance that saved the entire
| stock yards from destruction. No per-
son seems to know the origin of the fire
Several people saw the blazo stimuli
taneously as it went through the roof of
the tank house. The flames began to
rapidly eat their way directly across
the main building Though the fire
department was quickly at the
scene, the fire had gained
a volume that no amount of water could
reduce. Huge sweeping circles of flames
went whirling upward with a roar that
could be heard for blocks. Twenty en-
gines and every reservoir in the yard was
soon brought into play All efforts of the
firemen and hundreds of stocR-yards en-
ployes were bent toward keeping the con-
h1gration confined TO the works OF the
Chicago Company 1t was at this junct-
ure, while one little squad of firemen
were standing in freight car playing on
the burning tank-room, the tanks ex-
ploded A heavy beam smashed through
the roof of the car, smashing PipemaD
Bakeris ankle and knocking Lieutenant
, Elliott uncons cious. Soon afterward the
walls of the Warehouse tumbled to the
ground, disc osing great heaps Ct mess
PORK. P. d. Armour immediately set.
two hundred men at work removing the
meat. Charred barrels of it were
pulled out and carted away. The little
army tramped over huge piles OF loose
pork and carried big chunks Of it out on
the railroad tracks, where it was tllr own
in heaps. 0ccas onallv one of the work
men could drop ten-pound roast in
pool Of water and splash his neighbors
with mixture of grease and mud. Two
wheeled carts and big, four-wheeled
trucks were loaded from these heaps hEe
garbage-wagons from the gutter
Mr.. Armour, in a white hat and new
spring suit, ruefully watched the mess of
pork and corn dressed beef being cleared
away, while his manager, Cudahy, stood
on an elevation of mess pork and superln
J tended the work. In the debris were car
casses of hogs roasted alive. The charred
bodies, shriveled into shapeless masses OF
cnders, were mingled with piles OF brick,
blackened beams and barrels.
After the flames had consume m )s' Of
the woodwork of the building the fire
still held sway in tho great mounds Of
meat A smoke, THICK with the fumes
of tons of roasting pork, rolled over the
stock-pens and drove into tho eyes Of
the firemen. Falling walls filed the air
; with particles of brick, binding and suf-
I locating the men. They were at times
) compelled to leave their hose and plunge
! their heads into buckets of water Then
thew sat in turn, and with handkerchiefs
dipped water on their swollen eyelds or
bathed their blistcred checks with dirty
water